Scythaera's Call - Part 1
by StormDragon
Summary: Something strange is going on and the gang finds a way to try and revive Aeris. Another clone of Sephiroth gets involved and the adventures begin!! (lame, I know)
1. Default Chapter Title

Hi, I'm StormDragon and I'm new, so please be easy on me!! I don't own the FFVII characters, Squaresoft does. Please read my story and tell me what you think!! Here's part one of "Scythaera's Call"!!!  
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Scythaera's Call  
  
She looked around at the Planet, its boundaries tormented throughout the many years, suffering death and concealing life. She gracefully landed in front of Bone Village, the entryway to the Sleeping Forest.  
  
Ignoring all gazes of awe and astonishment from the startled workers, she followed her instinct-her call-into the forest. She never expected any more from those workers for if she too were a lowly human and had seen herself going into the Sleeping Forest, she too would be undeniably stunned.  
  
Shaking off from that thought she continued on, never looking back. She tenderly folded her wings against her back, listening to the forest as it told her thongs that had happened, no longer asleep in her presence. She nodded her head grimly, assuring them that she understood.  
  
They opened up a path, leading her straight to the Forgotten City-the City of the Ancients. She shuddered remembering the past-a time when the city was alive with people.  
  
This was where she was supposed to be, she knew now, only a little longer. She shuddered again; not wanting to go back where awful memories resided.  
  
Spreading her long, agile wings she gracefully glided through the crystal coated path, landing quietly in front of the shimmering blue lake. She stepped up to the glistening water, looking in at her reflection. Now was the time.  
  
  
Cloud paced back and forth, worried about what Sephiroth would do next. Thinking about Sephiroth kept his mind off the other things that had happened, no matter how long ago…  
  
"Cloud?" Cait Sith's voice broke through Cloud's troubled thoughts.  
  
"Huh? What is it?" Cloud replied, looking up and stopping his frantic pacing.  
  
"I've found out where Sephiroth is."  
  
"I thought we destroyed that…" Cid shouted, looking out the window of the Highwind.  
  
"We did," Red XIII said, stepping into the control room. "But this is another copy of Sephiroth…"  
  
"Not another blasted copy! That Hojo…" Barret fumed.  
  
"It wasn't Hojo." Red XIII growled.  
  
"Then who!" Tifa exclaimed.  
  
"That doesn't matter right now." Red XIII answered. He turned to Cait Sith. "You said you know where Sephiroth is, right?"  
  
Cait Sith nodded amiably, "He's now in the Icicle Area, pursuing…" he faltered, then looked over at Cloud, then Red XIII. "Maybe you should tell them Red."  
  
Red XIII nodded. "Sephiroth's pursuing Scythaera, the most powerful summon. She's also an Ancient Beast."  
  
"Meaning…?" Cid urged.  
  
"Meaning she has been around since the Ancients, she is an Ancient…Beast." He looked around at his friends' astonished faces. "She also has the power to talk to the Ancients; or even, if they hadn't fully lived their life and are missed and needed by her family or friends, she can raise an Ancient from the dead."  
  
Everyone gasped. "Aeris…" Cloud whispered.  
  
"…Aeris…yes," Red XIII replied, gazing apologetically at Cloud. "But Sephiroth, or really the clone of Sephiroth, is pursuing Scythaera. If he captures her he can manipulate her powers and raise the original Sephiroth from the dead."  
  
"Two Sephiroths…" Yuffie wondered aloud.  
  
"But if this Scythaera is the most powerful, then couldn't she just thrash Sephiroth herself?!" Barret demanded, slamming his fist down on the trestle.  
  
"She probably could defeat him…but the evil in Sephiroth…" Red XIII looked down to the floor, sounding distressed. "…Remember what happened to Cloud…?"  
  
A brief silence followed Red XIII's formidable words. "If Scythaera's a summon monster, there must be a summon Materia that will call her." Vincent reasoned.  
  
"There is," Cait Sith replied, "and if Sephiroth gets a hold of it…" he shuddered.  
  
"Then where is the Materia?" Tifa asked.  
  
Cait Sith looked over at Red XIII, who nodded for him to continue. "The Scythaera Materia is said to be at the Forgotten City."  
  
Cloud looked up, "Then why didn't we find it when we went there to…to get Aeris…?" he asked slowly. "If we had found it then…she…" he choked back tears.  
  
Red XIII sadly shook his head, looking somberly at Cloud. "For that question I have no answer…"  
  
Vincent thought a minute. "…I say we split up into two groups…one to search for Scythaera, …the other to find the summon Materia." Everyone nodded in agreement to Vincent's sound idea.  
  
"Then Red, Cait Sith, and I will go to get the Scythaera Summon Materia." Cloud said taking control. "And Cid, Yuffie, Tifa, Vincent, and Barret search for Scythaera and make sure that Sephiroth doesn't get her." A look of renewed determination blazed in his blue eyes like an icy fire. He gazed around, nodding his head with the others sincere replies. He turned to Cid, "Cid, you can drop me, Red, and Cait Sith off near Bone Village."  
  
Cid nodded and ran over to the pilot. "Get off your lazy butt and get us to Bone Village!" he shouted.  
  
"Yes sir!!"  
  
  
Cloud climbed off of his gold chocobo, Sandy, Red XIII and Cait Sith with him. "Stay here Sandy," he whispered, scratching it behind its ears and dropping a few Mimette and Reagen Greens on the ground for it to enjoy.  
  
Sandy 'warked' her approval, snatching one of the greens off the ground.   
  
Cloud stood up; looking around at the dense forest that surrounded Bone Village. He sighed deeply, recalling his mission and his two companions standing quietly beside him.  
  
He abruptly turned, solemnly facing them. "I…guess we should go…" the breaths he took in-between were occupied by doleful sighs.  
  
Red XIII nodded his slim head. "You've got the Lunar Harp still, right?" he asked, his eyes glittering in concern for his friend.  
  
Cloud nodded his answer, his spiky golden hair shaking as he gave Red XIII an unexpected smile. He once again looked up at the overshadowing trees, squinting at the dull sunshine that managed to break its way through the quivering leaves to land upon them in broken shafts of light. He sighed once more, preparing himself for what was to come. "Lets go." He said in a barely audible voice, a voice that revealed nothing of his inner thoughts and feelings, almost emotionless.  
  
They reached Bone Village quickly, considering the creatures that insisted on attacking them wherever they went. They walked into the excavation site, nodding greetings to the workers spread out across the shattered bones. Years of dirt and mire lay strewed across the decaying ground, ending up in somewhat of a crude pile.  
  
They continued on silently, stepping over whatever oddities that lay in their way. Cloud looked around at the almost completely rearranged site. More bone structures had been found, destined only to be tents for the resident miners.   
  
He could hear the whispers of some of the men as he passed by them; undoubtedly some of the same men who had helped him uncover the Lunar Harp so he could get through the Sleeping Forest and to Aeris. "Is that th' guy who came here over a year ago to find the Lunar Harp?" he heard one ask.  
  
"Yeh, that there's th' guy." another answered in a harsh whisper. "He went into th' Sleepin' Forest to find a guy in a black cape an' some girl in a pink dress." Cloud slightly winced at the man's crude description of Aeris.  
  
Cloud lightly shook his head, blocking out most of the outside world because he didn't want to hear of his past experiences from the unknowing workers.  
  
Red XIII's nose in his shoulder caused Cloud to abruptly stop and look up, half expecting to see a monster or something else equally terrifying. But what he saw was one of the workers, his suit a whole lot nicer then the rest of the workers, so Cloud assumed him to be of an important status.  
  
"…there's trouble in that forest… Hey kid, are ya hearin' me?" the man asked, waving a dirt encrusted hand in front of Cloud's face.  
  
Cloud instantly shot out of the daze that had entranced him. "Huh? Wha…yeah, I'm hearing you…"  
  
"Toren." The man replied.  
  
Cloud scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Uh…Toren. I'm Cloud and my companions here are Red XIII and Cait Sith."  
  
Toren scratched at his thin auburn beard. "Mmm hmm." He replied, nodding a greeting to each. "Why are you three headed into the Sleeping Forest? Especially after what happened a few days ago." He looked expectantly at Cloud, who just stared in confusion.  
  
"What happened?" Cait Sith queried, speaking the words the Cloud failed to find.  
  
Toren tried not to look surprised, but it was plainly evident in his emerald eyes. "Oh? So you haven't heard? I thought everyone had already." He scratched his beard again, watching the varied emotions in his visitors' eyes. "Hmm…I'll tell ya." He sat down on the ground, motioning for them to follow suit, which they did.   
  
"A few days ago, around dusk, …or was it dawn? Oh, it doesn't matter. Anyways, when some of my men were diggin' in this area, a creature flew above and then landed right in the middle of this excavation site, disturbing all of my workers." He grunted, looking around at their disbelieving faces.  
  
"…Would you three like to come into my tent for some rest and a bite to eat?" Toren asked, but in seeing the protests of his listeners, he raised his hands in front of him in mock defense, smiling at them with a toothy grin. "Okay, okay! I'll tell ya the rest!  
  
"The creature was a magnificent silver dragon. It was only a few feet taller than a full-grown man, not very big for a dragon I'll tell ya. And it was slender, not fat like the Blue Dragons. Anyway, it landed right in the middle of here," he motioned with his hand, "not even paying any attention to any of us. I've got to tell ya, it downright scared me. Sure, I've seen Bahamut, Neo Bahamut, and Bahamut ZERO, and they're pretty powerful in looks, but this dragon seemed to radiate power. It needed nothing but to stand there and ya already knew that this was one beast that ya didn't want to mess with. Beautiful creature though," he whistled admiringly, "not anything like the ugly creatures today. Its wings were huge, maybe one and a half times as long as the dragon was tall. And its scales were so bright that they almost blinded ya, only dimmed by the darkness that was falling. But really struck me was the calmness of its greenish blue eyes. You don't see that in a monster." Toren chose his finishing words carefully, expressing how the dragon looked to him, especially since everything seemed to get more chaotic.  
  
Cloud took Toren's words in, visualizing a creature of such tremendous power, yet stayed so passive. "Scythaera?" he whispered.  
  
Toren looked up in surprise. "That's what some of the other workers have said. But why would Scythaera be here after all this time?"  
  
Red XIII shook his head. "We don't know. No one's seen her for so many years." He gazed around, his eyes distant. He sighed, "Things just are so chaotic now. Even after the destruction of Meteor and the Weapons…" he sighed again, this time deeper, "…I don't know…" He shook his head.  
  
Cloud looked over at Red XIII, "…that's the way it is." He looked up at the darkening sky, "you never know jut what's gonna happen. Like when Aeris died…" Cloud's face contorted as if he hadn't expected himself to say that, his eyes misting over in sadness. Red XIII looked up in surprise, stepping towards Cloud. Cloud raised his hand in front of him, shaking his head. "I'm…okay…" he closed his eyes, "When she died, it was a complete and total surprise, but it…wasn't…"  
  
Cait Sith looked at Cloud, lost in his confusion. "What do you mean?"  
  
Cloud shook his head as if to clear unwanted thoughts, then continued at his friends' request. "I…I didn't know…but Sephiroth…I knew he was there…but not what he…was going to do… I-I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't save her…" With sudden energy, Cloud looked up and opened his eyes. He stood up, looking into the forest, his back to the others. "And that's why we're gonna go and get the Scythaera Summon Materia!"  
  
"Yeah!" Cait Sith and Red XIII exclaimed, jumping up beside their friend.  
  
Toren looked up at the three standing in front of him. He stood up slowly, passing a hand through his thick auburn hair. "So that's why you're so willing and ready to go into the Sleeping Forest…well, I'll let you pass," he sighed, "but take this with you!" he handed a green Materia orb to Cloud, who had since turned around. "It's the Blade Materia. I found it while I was diggin' here. It's the only one of its kind."   
  
Cloud held the Materia in his outstretched hand. "But you don't need to…"  
  
Toren shook his head. "Just take it. It'd be no use to me anyway. You're better off with it. The only danger I face is falling into one of the holes that are dug up all over this place." He laughed tautly, closing Cloud's hand over the orb. "Or an occasional dragon." He smiled. "Besides, I have my trusty shovel!" he grinned slightly.  
  
Cloud looked down at the jade colored Materia in his clenched fist. "Thanks." He murmured, placing the Materia with his Ultima Sword. He turned to face the Sleeping Forest, beckoning his companions to come with him.  
  
"When you guys find Scythaera, come and see me. I'd sure like to see 'er again!" Toren called. He watched as the three disappeared into the shadows, Red XIII's tail flame fading away in the dark. Toren stood there, leaning on his shovel. "That sure is one brave kid." He whispered under his breath.  
  
  
Yuffie shivered as she stepped off the Highwind, getting on to the back of her chocobo, Penny. "Why do we have to come back to this dumb place again?!" she whined, directing her chocobo towards the others.  
  
Tifa stopped her chocobo, Goldie, to let Cid climb on. "'Cause Cloud told us to!"  
  
Yuffie groaned, "I know, I know! But why can't we chase Scythaera and Sephiroth on board the Highwind where its warm?!" she stopped Penny beside Goldie to let Vincent hop on.  
  
"I thought you were the one who didn't like the Highwind 'cos you're 'fraid of heights!" Barret shouted, riding up on his gold chocobo, Blitz.  
  
Yuffie looked over at Barret, scowling. "I am not afraid of heights! I get air sickness!" she shouted. She dashed her chocobo forward across the snowy ground, catching Vincent by surprise.  
  
"What are you trying to do Yuffie?" Vincent called, picking himself off the ground. "Kill me?"  
  
Yuffie turned Penny around and went over to Vincent, "Oops! Sorry Vincent!" she helped him climb back on.  
  
Cid looked around impatiently, "When you guys are done playing tag, we can go!" he shouted. Barret and Yuffie directed their chocobos back over to Cid and Tifa. "Okay then, lets go!" Cid shouted.  
  
They rode their chocobos all over Icicle area, not even finding a sign that either Sephiroth or Scythaera had been there. Barret sighed in exasperation. "Now what!!" he asked, stopping and shivering to warm himself up.  
  
Tifa stopped also. "I don't know." She replied, shaking her head apologetically.   
  
"Well, dragons have wings…so maybe Scythaera just decided to fly away from this stupid place!" Yuffie exclaimed, stopping her chocobo nearby.  
  
Tifa looked over at Yuffie. "Okay…Well maybe we should go find Cloud and the others." She looked around, trying to suppress the chattering of her teeth.  
  
Barret shook his head. "I don't think we should. Cloud, Red an' Cait Sith are busy wit' somethin' else. It's really important to Cloud." He shrugged. "Maybe we should go to Icicle Inn an' see if anyone there has seen anythin'." He shifted his body around on his chocobo in attempts to warm up.  
  
Cid nodded, "Barret's got the right idea. Cloud has got to straighten this out himself." He motioned to his left, "We passed Icicle Inn a little while back from that direction." He looked around. "When we get there maybe we can call Cloud on PHS to inform him on what's happened so far."  
  
Vincent nodded along with the rest of the group. "Good idea." He replied quietly.  
  
  
Barret, Tifa, and Yuffie led their chocobos to the outer edge of Icicle Inn, dropping a few greens for them to eat. Yuffie and the others had promised to meet at the inn in town. As they walked across the snow-covered terrain into the cold town of Icicle Inn, a huge blast of energy shook the whole town, knocking them off their feet.  
  
Barret jumped to his feet, "What was that??" he shouted, stopping before he collided into a crowd of frantic people.  
  
Yuffie and Tifa ran up behind him, almost colliding with Cid and Vincent. "What happened?!" Yuffie shouted over the clamor.  
  
Cid shook his head, "I don't know! We were just…whoah! Look over there!!" he pointed up to the sky.  
  
Everyone looked up at the gray tinted sky, only to see Sephiroth, fighting a shining silver dragon.  
  
"Hey! Is that that Scythaera that Red's been tellin' us about?" Cid shouted, watching in awe as she swooped down below Sephiroth's glancing blow, deftly avoiding the people scattered about the populated streets.  
  
Tifa nodded blankly, "Wow, I think it is!" she watched the dragon effortlessly avoid Sephiroth's hasty attempts to weaken her. Tifa caught a glance of something on Scythaera's back. "Huh?…What's on Scythaera's back…?" she asked, getting a closer look, noticing shiny auburn brown hair and a pale pink dress as Scythaera disappeared over the bordering mountain and into the water. "…Is that…Aeris?!?" she screeched, looking around at the others and pointing.  
  
Yuffie jumped up and down excitedly. "That was Aeris!!" she shouted. "Who else could it have been?!"  
  
Vincent turned and looked up to where Sephiroth had been, scanning the area with his shadowed eyes. "Uh oh…don't look now guys, but Sephiroth is long gone, and he has a lead on Scythaera!" he glanced nervously around at the empty streets, their snow covered appearance devoid of any creatures except for him and the rest of the group.  
  
"Now what're we gonna do?" Barret exclaimed as they headed towards the Inn, where many people were hiding. "Yello' bellied foo's…" he mumbled under his breath as he passed by some whimpering and whining people.  
  
They sat down in a vacant room, the tension in the room uneasy after the previous events. Yuffie shrugged her shoulders, holding her Conformer tightly. "Maybe now we should call Cloud on PHS." She reasoned. "And we can tell him about Aeris!" she added, grinning broadly.  
  
Tifa awarded her with a cold glare. Sure, she was glad that Aeris was alive, but Cloud…  
  
Yuffie was unaffected by Tifa's glare, not even noticing it. "So's that a good idea? Okay, who's gonna call them?" she looked around, her eyes searching for any takers. "Fine then, I'll do it!" She grinned, snatching up the PHS off the table before anyone could protest.  
  
She listened for the sound of someone answering as she held the small device near her ear. "Cloud? It's Yuffie." She said, pulling the device away from her ear and turning the volume up to max in hopes that all of her companions in the room could hear.  
  
"What is it?" Cloud's voice cracked over the worn speaker.  
  
"Well, we've found Scythaera…and Sephiroth," she sighed, "but they got away into the ocean…"  
  
"Go find them! You can use the sub if you want. Just…please…get her." Cloud's impatient tone faded, surprising his listeners.  
  
Yuffie snorted credulously. "Yeah, well…hey Cloud! You'll never guess who we saw!!" her tone brightened. "…Cloud? Cloud?!" Silence followed, not even the fissured sound of the tuned up speaker could be distinguished. Yuffie looked the PHS over, turning and shaking the small black device in her hands. "Hmph! Its dead." She replied flatly.  
  
Vincent grinned under the collar of his cape, his dark eyes laughing. "Did you break it Yuffie?" he asked, snickering. Yuffie snorted stubbornly at Vincent's teasing comment.  
  
Cid stood up, jutting the butt his spear onto the carpeted floor, gaining his allies' attention. "Well lets do what the man says already! To the Highwind!" he lifted his spear triumphantly into the air. "I'll personally fly us to Junon Harbor to retrieve the sub. But we must go fast to catch up with Scythaera and Sephiroth. We saw that dragon's amazing movements today. And who knows what Sephiroth will do…"  
  
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Please Read and review!! I will be posting the next part soon (hopefully)!!! Please tell me what you think! Is it exciting, cool, lame boring, stupid…what? Well see ya for now  



	2. Scythaera's Call-2

"Wait!" a soft alto voice called from the other side of the Inn.  
  
Everyone's heads turned to see a tall, slender girl run into view. She had shoulder-length brown hair and was wearing a forest green shirt and dark blue jeans.   
  
She fiddled nervously with a string of her hair as she walked up to the group.  
  
"Well?" Tifa asked impatiently, stepping up to the young girl. By her judgement the girl looked about 19 years old.   
  
As she came closer to the intruder she spotted a small lizard-like creature resting on the girl's shoulder. Tifa stopped suddenly, unwilling to show her fright. "What is that thing on your shoulder?" Tifa asked.  
  
The small creature raised it's metallic sandy-white head and hissed angrily at Tifa, then unfolded it's wings and deftly lifted itself into the air, causing Tifa to step back in her fright.  
  
"What is dat thing?!" Barret shouted, readying his gun-arm. "It looks kinda like one a dem Wind Wings or somethin'!"  
  
The girl agilely caught the small creature gently into her hand's, it's tail and wings sticking out from between her fingers. "No no! This is a tarmatrai. He's kinda like a mini dragon." She coaxed the tarmatrai into sitting back on her shoulder.  
  
Cid stepped up impatiently, "And who does that make you?" he challenged.  
  
"I'm Miya Starblade. I own a chocobo farm in this town; mostly snow, ice, flying and fighting chocobos." She smiled, "I wanted to ask if I could join your group."  
  
Yuffie spoke up. "Why would you want to join this rag tag group?" she narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Miya, "…unless of course you were planning on stealing all my…er, I mean our Materia!" she grinned triumphantly.  
  
Miya shook her head. "No, no, nothing like that. I just wanted to help you! Where you ever get the idea of me staling your Materia? I have my own." She took out a few red, green, and blue Materia to prove her point.  
  
Yuffie blushed, turning her head away; but not before catching the types of Materia that Miya held out.  
  
"What can you do to help us?" Tifa asked, somewhat skeptical of what the young girl could do.  
  
Miya grinned, pulling out her short bow and 3 silver tipped arrows as her tarmatrai flew quickly into the air, his gray eyes gleaming dangerously. Miya held all 3 arrows on the bow at once and pulled the string back, all done as quick as lightning. "Demonstration?" she asked, pointing the bow at each person, who each in turn stepped back. She shrugged, and pointing the bow upward at the hanging chandeliers, knocked all three down in an instant after releasing the string. They fell to the ground with a loud crash. "And Dusty here can do a pretty good job of slicing any enemy." She motioned towards the hovering tarmatrai, who was flying above the onlookers' heads.  
  
The five spectators stood with their mouths wide open. Cid nodded his head briskly. "She's in." he replied, gaining nods from the rest of the group.  
  
Miya smiled appreciatively then walked over to the front desk where a clerk sat; dazed. "Sorry about the chandeliers," she said, placing a bag of gil onto the counter. "Ten-thousand gil oughta pay for it, right?" the clerk looked from Miya to the bag of gil, then nodded his head vigorously when he realized that she was serious, and then ran into the inner room.   
  
She turned around to face the group. "So… are we gonna go?" she asked.  
  
  
  
Cloud snorted. "Stupid PHS!" he grumbled.  
  
Cait Sith stepped up beside him. The cat-like Cait looked down at the black device in Cloud's hands. "What happened?" he asked. "Is it dead? The speaker's blown?"  
  
Cloud nodded, grumbling as he fumbled to return the PHS to its original location. "Well I guess we should get going. We're…almost there." His voice dropped off flatly, almost like he was trying to withhold his emotions, but they kept slipping, evident in his rich tone.  
He turned from them, afraid that his voice would reveal his feelings, and shut his crystal blue eyes, pushing his worries somewhat away. He softly opened them from their tightly shut position and sighed thoughtfully, taking a step forward to signal his readiness to move on. "By the way," he began, his voice more uplifted and spirited then before, "Yuffie said that the group has found Scythaera." He glanced around as his friends cheered. "But…" he held up his hand wistfully, "…she got away. Sephiroth chased her into the ocean. I told them to take the sub and go after her."  
  
Red XIII lightly shook his head. "Is that when the PHS went dead?" he asked.  
  
Cloud thought for a minute. "No…Yuffie said something about her and the others seeing someone. Then it kinda blanked out. She sounded excited about it though." He scratched his head, looking at the sea-like land that surrounded the Forgotten City.  
  
Red XIII watched as Cloud once again started forward, lost in his thoughts and emotions. Cloud, Red thought to himself, why won't you just show your emotions? Hadn't he, Red XIII, been there when they went into the Temple of the Ancients with Aeris? Cloud had been afraid of bringing Aeris along lest she get hurt. And wasn't he there when they had defeated the Demon Wall and Cait Sith came in, when Aeris asked for Cait Sith to predict how 'compatible' her and Cloud were? Of course that fortune resulted as Cloud and Aeris being perfectly compatible, leading for a great future, and Cloud's eyes were so clear and happy then, unlike now when their blueness is shadowed in a dreary mist.   
  
And when Sephiroth had taken control of Cloud's body and caused Cloud to hit Aeris, he was there too, seeing how immensely stressed out Cloud had been about his involuntary action when he awoke from his dream. And one major time when he, Red XIII, had been by Cloud's side: the night of Aeris's sudden horrifying death. Cloud had woken up in the dead silence of the night, telling them that he knew that Aeris was there, he could feel her calming presence in his soul; and Sephiroth's fearful presence also. Cloud woke them up, worried deeply for Aeris's life.  
  
Red XIII, Cloud, and Cait Sith ran along the crystal-lined path through the growing darkness, reaching a calm shining lake by a conch shell building. Cloud led them into the building, guiding them upward in the spiral building to where he felt-where he knew-where Aeris was.  
  
The large orange, white, and black striped clown fish that once lay in the center of the shell-like building was gone, and an opening lay there that led to shimmering crystal stairs. Cloud had nodded grimly towards the opalescent stairway, heading down the stairs quickly, fueled by the dreaded fear in his heart.  
  
They reached the bottom of the stairs, panting to keep up with a frenzied Cloud. They looked before them at the pedestal-like stones that led up to a circular marble alter; where Aeris was, praying earnestly for the whole Planet.  
  
Without hesitation, Cloud leaped onto the first stone column, his boots causing echoes to beat hollowly through the open room. Cat Sith proceeded to follow, but Cloud turned around and motioned for him not to come. Cait Sith looked inquiringly over at Red XIII, who nodded in agreement to Cloud's response.  
  
They watched silently as cloud jumped from step to step, column to column, finally reaching the large pedestal, slowly approaching the kneeling Aeris.  
  
To their utmost surprise and horror, Cloud, his hands shaking and body trembling, lifted his sword above the Cetra's bowed body.  
  
Red XIII had thought that Cloud had gone crazy, attempting to kill the one he so cared about. Then something clicked in his mind as him and Cait Sith shouted urgently for Cloud to stop. Sephiroth…! Sephiroth was controlling Cloud!  
  
Cloud, still trembling violently, had moved his arm, almost throwing his weapon in rage and confusion, when it happened. They all watched in horror, frozen in place, as a ghostly figure began to descend above the now alarmed Aeris. His long silvery hair flowed in his descending gale, whipping about his hard-set face. His sword alighted quickly with him, pointing menacingly at the innocent woman that lay kneeling at the altar; and they all knew and feared what happened next.  
  
The long sword plunged slowly into her back, continuing until it drove right through her pure heart.  
  
"Aeris…!" Red XIII heard Cloud say, the words barely audibly, much less a whisper in the wind; as Aeris gasped, closing her eyes and falling, lifeless, to the earth.  
  
Cloud caught Aeris in his outstretched arms, looking at her still form with pleading eyes, wishing that it all had been a nightmare like it seemed. What they all had wished.  
  
After the sullen battle with one of Sephiroth's Jenova monsters, cloud held Aeris tightly in his arms, unwilling to depart with her when he had to lay her to rest in the calm lake where all of it had happened.  
  
No one knew exactly the reason why cloud had been so vengeful of Sephiroth, except for him, Red XIII. He saw the tremendous pain in cloud's usually tranquil blue eyes; he had seen it all. If only Cloud would himself and the others see more of it…  
  
"…Red?" Cait Sith called, bringing Red XIII back from his past memoirs.  
  
Red XIII looked up at his moggle friend, nodding quick reassurance to him. He sprang forward, the muscles in his body propelling him forward like a red rocket. He reached his friends after one lightning fast bound, the feathers upon his head waving restlessly in the breeze. He nodded silently as Cloud's determined gaze fell upon him.  
  
"Lets go." Red XIII called, bounding in front of them. "We're just about there!" he turned his head to catch Cloud's sharp nod, then ran forward, his friends, especially Cloud, quickly gaining on him.  
  
  
  
Scythaera folded her glimmering wings tightly to her back, diving straight down into the gleaming icy water below. `Hang on tight Aeris!` she spoke silently to her friend.  
  
Aeris opened her eyes to the sight of water around her, yet she was floating in an airtight bubble. "Wha…! Scythaera?" she called softly, focusing her blue-jade eyes to the wavering colors of the sea. The azure water rushed around the bubble that encased her, small silver and blue fish scattering into nearby holes and shadows.  
  
`I am right here.` Scythaera replied, her telepathic-like voice spoke softly and calmly in Aeris' mind. Aeris carefully turned her head to see the silver dragon swimming swiftly beside the bubble, guiding it along. She instinctively utilized her wings like massive fins, narrowing them to create a sleek "V" shape. She turned her narrow, metallic head to look at Aeris, smiling a draconic smile. `I placed you in the bubble so you could breathe. Human's can't breathe underwater, I am correct?`   
  
Aeris nodded, grinning at her friend. "Yes." She replied. Scythaera nodded, turning her head to face forward again in one graceful sweep of her head.  
  
As Aeris watched the Ancient Beast swim, it calmed her nerves. Scythaera's head was long and thin, falcon-like in appearance, excluding the tearing hooked beak. She looked surprisingly similar to Bahamut, with a much smaller appearance. Scythaera's eyes were a bright bluish green, and the ridges above her eyes were like a small wave of shallow spikes. Starting a little above her eyes, on the top of her head lay a long, thin scythe-like blade that curved, almost parallel, down to about her jaw level, ending in a sharp point. Protruding from the back of her jaw line, the area where her jaw and neck met, was two small blade-like fins, one on each side of her jaw.  
  
Scythaera's slender body swayed gently with the current of the water and Aeris giggled lightly, watching her silver tail wave in the strong current. The blade on the end of her tail kind of reminded Aeris of a butterfly, for it was shaped so. Like a butterfly with razor sharp wings, Aeris thought, giggling some more.  
  
Scythaera suddenly stopped, spreading her wings to slow her movement. The bubble swirled around slowly, stopping also. `We must go.` Scythaera calmly stated. `I've been summoned…`  
  
  
  
Cid jumped into the pilot seat of the old Shinra sub, leaning forward in the black leather chair to press and flip the necessary buttons and switches.   
  
"What makes you think that you're gonna drive the sub?" Yuffie called angrily as she climbed down the ladder into the sub.  
  
Cid swiveled the chair around, facing Yuffie. "For one: I have experience, and for two: you, Barret, Tifa, or Vincent would probably drown us all!" he turned the chair back around and flipped one last switch, igniting the engine. "Besides, you'd probably get water sickness!" Yuffie snorted and huffily sat down.  
  
After everyone was inside the sub, Cid submerged them into the dark depths of the massive ocean. They had flown on the Highwind from Icicle Inn, bringing along their new ally Miya and her small tarmatrai named Dusty. She also brought along one of her flying chocobos, a special breed of chocobos with larger, stronger wings that enables them to fly with up to two people on each.  
  
After leaving Junon Harbor where the sub was kept, they boarded the old sub, leaving the violet flying chocobo on the sub.  
  
"We're searching for Scythaera?" Miya asked. "That name sounds so familiar…" she sat down in one of the seats. "Oh yeah… when I was little, my mom taught me all about the Ancient Beasts. But that was before my parents died and I was left alone…" she sadly stroked Dusty, who rubbed his sand colored head against her cheek.  
  
Cid pointed out the sub's front window, "Guys, its Scythaera!"  
  
Everyone dashed to the front, looking out window. "…And Aeris!" Yuffie exclaimed.  
  
Cid directed the sub closer when the dragon stopped, and then…disappeared.  
  
"What…happened?" Barret shouted.  
  
Miya quietly stepped away from the window. "Scythaera transported. That means she must've been summoned." She sat back down in her seat.  
  
"Summoned?" Tifa cried, "That means that Cloud found the Materia!…"  
  
"…Or Sephiroth…" Vincent warned tentatively.  
  
Cid stepped over to Miya. "I'll bring us to the City of the Ancients." He turned to her. "Meanwhile, Miya, tell us all you know about the Ancient Beasts…"  



End file.
